8 takeaways from 'Draining Oregon': The big water giveaway

Something seemed amiss in Harney County last summer, long before it became the scene of January's armed standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

After years of liberally granting access to underground water across the high desert of southeastern Oregon, the state abruptly told irrigators it would accept no new applications to pump wells. Regulators launched a 5-year study, saying they feared newly dug wells were sucking up unsustainable quantities of water. Cattle ranching and alfalfa, once bright spots in the struggling rural economy, were thrown into limbo.

How could Oregon so freely approve pumping permits for so long, then suddenly announce concerns so serious that they required immediate action?

The Oregonian/OregonLive found that Harney County fits a disturbing pattern. State regulators frequently lack the basic information they need to make sound decisions about the water that flows under Oregon's surface. Faced with knowledge gaps, they regularly dole out water anyway. The result, often, is groundwater declines that threaten people and the environment.

We've published a four-part series on the problem. Here are some key takeaways:

Underground water in Oregon is a big deal.

Oregon regulators are granting irrigators access to water they don't know we have.

Regulators also have no way to know how much we're using.

Even when regulators have reason to suspect there isn't enough water to sustain new well development, they sometimes grant permits anyway.